Part 6
The class holds an election for class president, and the campaign becomes a contest between two ways of seeing the world. Jessica nominates Shay; then Shay, expecting easy laughs, mockingly nominates Ally — certain the ‘dumb’ girl could never really run. But Ally, terrified and determined, decides to try. Shay’s campaign is all flashy, impossible promises: bigger lockers, longer recess, whatever will win a cheap cheer. Ally, with help shaping her words, writes something different and true — a speech about listening to everyone, about making the quietest voices in the class heard and valued, exactly the kindness she has learned from being unseen herself. When Mr. Daniels counts the ballots openly in front of the class, the result is a genuine shock: Ally wins. It is a triumph earned not by tricks but by heart, and it marks how far she has come from the girl who hid in the back row. Shay, humiliated and furious, strikes back the only way she knows: she forges a fake love letter, pretending it is from a popular boy named Max, and plants it to embarrass Ally in front of everyone. But the scheme collapses — Max realizes the letter is a fraud and turns his anger on Shay, not Ally. The bully’s cruelty, for once, rebounds on herself.
| Section | What you will practice |
|---|---|
| Vocabulary | Campaign words: election, nominate, campaign, sincere, forge… |
| Literary Elements | Two kinds of persuasion, a triumph earned, and a scheme that backfires |
| Cross-Curricular | Words that persuade — speeches, elections, and honesty |
| Ch. | What happens |
|---|---|
| Chapters 32–35 | The Campaign — Shay mockingly nominates Ally for class president; against Shay’s flashy promises, Ally writes a sincere speech about hearing every voice — and wins the election. |
| Chapters 36–38 | The Forged Letter — humiliated, Shay forges a fake love letter from Max to embarrass Ally, but Max sees the fraud and turns his anger on Shay instead. |
Reading “Words of the Election” as a word map reveals how the language of Chapters 32–38 follows the part’s turning point. Readers can infer election, used as a noun, to mean a vote to choose a leader; this scene supplies the clue: The class held an election for president. Readers can infer nominate, used as a verb, to mean to name someone as a candidate; this scene supplies the clue: Shay nominated Ally as a joke. Readers can infer campaign, used as a noun, to mean the effort to win an election; this scene supplies the clue: Shay’s campaign was all flashy promises. Readers can infer sincere, used as an adjective, to mean honest and truly meant; this scene supplies the clue: Ally’s speech was quiet and sincere. Across the episode, the selected language converts conflict into a developing verbal texture.
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.
Careful sequence reading reveals the textual evidence, the structural pivot, and the resulting consequence in Chapters 32–38. The class holds an election for class president, and the campaign becomes a contest between two ways of seeing the world. Jessica nominates Shay; then Shay, expecting easy laughs, mockingly nominates Ally — certain the ‘dumb’ girl could never really run. But Ally, terrified and determined, decides to try. Shay’s campaign is all flashy, impossible promises: bigger lockers, longer recess, whatever will win a cheap cheer. Ally, with help shaping her words, writes something different and true — a speech about listening to everyone, about making the quietest voices in the class heard and valued, exactly the kindness she has learned from being unseen herself. Reading evidence around the pivot turns “The Election and the Letter” into meaningful convergence.
- Ally gives a sincere speech about hearing every voice.
- Shay forges a fake love letter, which backfires.
- Shay mockingly nominates Ally.
- The class holds an election for president.
- Mr. Daniels counts the ballots and Ally wins.
The pressure of Chapters 32–38 is crafted through arc, rhetoric, and justice working in combination. Measure how far Ally has traveled. In Part 1 she hid in the back row, certain she was stupid and worthless, causing trouble so no one would look too closely. Now she stands in front of the whole class, speaks true words, and wins their trust — on purpose, out loud. Her election victory is a milestone in her character arc , the clearest proof yet that the girl who thought she was nothing has become someone others choose to follow. Notice WHY she wins: not by hiding her difference, and not by copying Shay’s tricks, but by offering the very gift her hard road gave her — knowing exactly what it feels like to be unheard. That authorial design makes “A Triumph Earned” a lesson in deliberate perspective.
Historical or scientific grounding matters here because words, that, and persuade change how the conflict can be judged. The class election puts Ally in the middle of a real civics lesson about how persuasion works. Whenever people choose a leader — in a classroom, a town, or a country — candidates try to win support with words, and not all persuasion is equal. Some appeals are empty: flashy, impossible promises (bigger lockers, endless recess) designed to grab a quick cheer without any plan or truth behind them — the classic tactics of a candidate who cares more about winning than serving. Other appeals are substantive: honest speech that names a real value, offers something a leader can actually deliver, and treats listeners as thoughtful people. This context turns Part 6 from a private adventure into a broader question of empathy.
Think back over these chapters. A mean girl, sure of an easy laugh, nominates the ‘dumb’ kid for class president — and the dumb kid, hands shaking, says yes. One campaign is all fireworks: bigger lockers, endless recess, anything for a cheer. The other is quiet and true: a promise that every voice in the room, even the smallest, will finally be heard, from a girl who knows precisely how it feels to be unheard. The ballots are counted out loud, and the room gasps, because the quiet true words have won. And when the loser strikes back with a forged letter meant to shame the winner, the lie falls apart in her own hands.
The class election drops Ally into a lesson every citizen needs: how persuasion works. Whenever a group chooses a leader — in a classroom, a town, or a whole country — the people who want the job try to win support with words. But not all persuasion is the same, and learning to tell the difference is one of the most useful skills a person can build. Some appeals are empty. A candidate may make flashy, impossible promises — bigger lockers, endless recess, something for nothing — designed only to grab a quick cheer, with no plan or truth behind them. Shay’s campaign is built entirely of these.
Other persuasion is substantive: it names a real value, offers something a leader can actually deliver, and treats listeners as thoughtful people rather than an easy crowd. Ally’s winning promise — to make every classmate’s voice heard — is this second kind. Skilled speakers also use the tools of good rhetoric: they appeal to shared values, keep their message clear and simple, and, most important, they are believed because they are sincere. A speech can be clever and still ring false; what makes words truly persuasive over time is that the person means them. This is why Ally, who is neither the loudest nor the most popular, can win: she offers the class something real, spoken honestly, from someone who knows what it is to be ignored. The election teaches a lesson far bigger than sixth grade — that the most powerful and trustworthy words are usually the honest ones.
This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!
Writing Task — Part 6 “Words That Matter”
Ally wins by speaking honestly about something she truly believes: that every voice should be heard. Write a short persuasive paragraph about a change you would truly make if you led your class or school — and why it matters. Make a real, honest promise, not a flashy one. 6–10 sentences. End with why people should trust your words.
No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.
Part 6 Complete!
You finished Chapters 32–38 of Fish in a Tree.
Here are your auto-graded results:
Your writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and whether you included the key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.
Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.